Concrete Angel
by Gravity-Chan
Summary: "Through the wind and the rain, she stands hard as a stone, in a world that she can rise above."


**Hey guys! Here's a random one-shot that I came up with while listening to the song "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride. It's a beautiful song. I hope you enjoy this! It's rushed, so I apologize if it seems choppy or whatnot.**

* * *

Ten-year-old Lucy Heartfilia sighed softly as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her sleeveless top revealed the bruises on her shoulder, and she grimaced, throwing on a linen jacket before going outside.

It had been three months since the death of her mother, and ever since Layla's funeral, Lucy hadn't once smiled. The marks that Jude left on her stung under the cover of her jacket. As she left the house, she could see her father in the other room, his nose buried in his work as usual. Shaking her head, the grabbed her lunch from off the table and walked down the pathway towards her school.

As she approached the small building, she spotted some of her classmates hugging their parents goodbye. A spark of jealousy flared in her chest. They all looked so happy, smiling at their parents and wearing their new outfits. Her own dress was worn and outdated. This was the third day in a row she had worn it to school.

Lowering her gaze, Lucy walked into the school and sat down in her seat, resting her chin on her hand. She pulled out her homework and began to doodle in the margins of her paper as the teacher walks by. She didn't even notice that her sleeve had ridden up, revealing the finger-shaped bruises on her upper arm.

Recess came. Lucy was the last out of the room, walking slowly and wordlessly onto the playground. She looked around, spotting an empty bench and heading towards it. She sat down, folding her hands in her lap. She had no friends, so she sat by herself, watching the other kids playing. I wish I was never born, she thought to herself, feeling tears come to her eyes.

She didn't have a chance to cry, though, because a boy approached her at that moment with a soft smile on his face. Like her, he goes unnoticed by the outside world. "Hi," he greeted cheerfully. "I'm Natsu. Who are you?"

"Lucy," she replied softly, with a forced smile.

Natsu grins at her "Nice to meet you, Luce. How come you're on your own? There are a lot of games to play," he asks, meeting her brown eyes with his stunningly dark ones.

Lucy's smiled faded, and she looked away. "I… don't have any friends," she admitted, kicking the ground with her heel.

"Really?" Natsu seemed taken aback. "That's dumb. You seem like a great girl!"

Lucy blushed slightly at the comment. "Thanks," she murmured. she hadn't received a compliment in a long time. "Do you need something?"

Natsu shrugged. "Nah, I just wanted to talk," he replied.

Lucy swallowed. "Oh, okay. Well, what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

Natsu's face lit up. "Let's talk about dragons!" he exclaimed. "They're awesome! They're huge and powerful and they breath fire!"

Lucy stifled a giggle with her hand. "In all my fairy tales, the dragons are evil, They kidnap princesses and burn down forests."

Natsu scoffed at her. "Dragons aren't evil!" he cried incredulously. "And they don't kidnap the princesses! They protect them, until the right person comes along."

This comment made Lucy throw her head back with laughter. "I like your version of dragons a lot better," she managed around her giggles.

Natsu's pout morphed into a grin once more, but before he could say anything, the bell rang to end recess. Natsu frowned. "I wanna talk some more. Tell you what I live next door to you. Open up your bedroom window tonight and we can talk!"

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. Perhaps she had finally found a friend.

* * *

That night, after Jude had turned out his lights for the night, Lucy went to her window and pushed it open. Natsu was already there, in the window of the house next door, his dark eyes bright in the dim sunlight.

"Hey, Luce," he greeted. "How are you?"

Lucy smiled at him, a genuine smile. "Alright, I guess," she replied, and she frowned as her fingers trailed up to her shoulder, resting on her bruises. She looked down. "Natsu, can I tell you a secret?"

Natsu blinked. "Of course, I promise not to tell," he replied, drawing an "x" over his heart.

Luvy hesitated a moment. She had already decided he was trustworthy, but now that it came down to telling him, she was afraid. "I…"

The sentence was cut off by the sound of her bedroom door opening loudly. Lucy gasped and spun around, eyes wide, as her father stormed in. Jude glared at her, stepping forward and seizing her arms in his large hands. "Lucy! I told you an hour ago to get in bed, and I find you here, with your window open, talking to some strange boy!" his voice was laced with anger, and his breath stunk of smoke and alcohol, a combination that didn't bode well.

Lucy turned her head to give Natsu a desperate glance. He was pale, a look of disbelief on his face as the watched the scene unfold. Jude growled and his voice rose as he gripped Lucy's chin and forced her to look at him, yelling insults at her. "You've been a very naughty girl! You know what I have to do next!"

Lucy let out a fearful whimper, shrinking under her father's glare. His fingers dug into the skin of her arms, surely leaving new bruises. He yanked her forward, away from the window, and his hand connected with her cheek with a loud smack.

A pained cry escaped the small blonde's lips and Jude shoved her backwards roughly, sending her sprawling backward. She didn't even have time to gain her footing before her head smashed against the corner of the dresser with a sickening crack and the crumpled.

Sirens blared outside the house as she hit the ground. She could hear the noise of someone pounding hard on her front door, shouting. Her eyes rolled back in her head and darkness overcame her.

She didn't wake up again.

* * *

Natsu bowed his head as he stared at the tombstone. It was newly polished, glinting in the sunlight. In his hand, he held a rose, and he bent over to lay the flower on the rock, staring at the inscription.

"Lucy Angela Heartfilia," he read aloud. A small number of people gathered around the grave, but none of them noticed the little pink-haired boy in front of them. No one ever noticed Natsu.

After a moment, Natsu turned away from the grave. He walked forward, his head bowed, not bothering to watch where he was going. As he moved, he began to glow faintly, and his image flickered as he walked straight through one of the spectators. As he appeared on the other side of the man, there was a serene smile on his face.

In front of him stood Lucy. Her bruises were gone and her clothing looked immaculate, and there was a faint sheen of light around her. What Natsu noticed, first, however, was her bright smile. She took a step forward and embraced him tightly. "My guardian angel," she whispered in his ear.

Natsu grinned as she stepped back and held out his hand. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Lucy accepted his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "I'm ready," she replied softly, squeezing his hand assuringly.

Natsu' grin broadened and he began to run, tugging Lucy along with him. He headed up the hill towards where the sun was setting, his bright black eyes glinting in the rays of the faint sunlight. "Then let's go!"


End file.
